Candid Decisions
by CschMan20
Summary: [Post-war AU] [One-shot] In a small village on the far side of the country, a matured blond hero stops at an inn for some much needed rest. He comes in contact with a lovely young waitress, and they manage to make something out of their meeting that changes a small part of their world.


Candid Decisions

" _The heart can think of no devotion  
Greater than being shore to the ocean-  
Holding the curve of one position,  
Counting an endless repetition."  
_

 _-Robert Frost_

* * *

There was a thin mist floating down from the hills to the west that evening and only the locals found it to be peculiar. Normally, fog would roll across the small village from the sea to the east that was located a few kilometers away. At those times, most locals would skitter slowly to their homes to stoke their fires and stir their stews, but the rest would meander over to the only restaurant in town. It also happened to be the only inn in the village as well.

On this particular night, a group of elderly men surrounded the center table of the restaurant, discussing the unusual weather.

"I'm telling ya it's an ill omen if ever I saw one!" exclaimed one man.

The man next to him shook his head, his old teeth clacking together. "It's probably some Kiri-nin messing with us. I've lived in this area my whole life and never seen the fog come from the west."

The first man scoffed as another one joined in. "Maybe it's a sign of some impending doom, like another shinobi war?"

The other man looked exasperated. "It ain't natural enough to be something like a sign, ya fool. I'm telling ya that it's man-made!"

One of the other men at the table began proposing the work of a goddess when a clay pitcher slammed upon the tabletop. The men stared in rapt silence at the woman holding the pitcher.

"That's enough now, gentlemen," the waitress said. "You're bothering the other guests with your fussing." Scattered glances from around the restaurant looked at her with admiration.

The older man who had thought the fog was an act of the heavens fidgeted with his hands, embarrassed. "Sorry, Haruka. We were just talking about the weather."

The young waitress, Haruka, was not a serious woman. She preferred making others laugh by a good joke rather than making them look at her with tears or remorse. She had known most of these men for her whole life and saw them all as an extension of her family. There were instances where she had to carry them to their houses because of drinking nights that had gone too far, and then there were times where they had given her little gifts of jewelry during festivals. She found both types of situations to be responsible for the bond she shared with most of these men. Nevertheless, her duty as a service worker and a woman who understood when something was being taken too far needed to be demonstrated.

Haruka sighed and pushed a lock of her honey-brown hair behind her shoulder. "It's alright, Henzawa-s _an_. I don't mind what you all talk about, really, as long as you keep your voices down and your manners in check. Does that make sense, gentlemen?"

The men all nodded fervently and some of them even smiled at her. "Good," she said. "Now then, is there anything else I can get for you?" She memorized their orders and returned to the kitchen in the back.

After she was gone, the men began to speak about the same manners (although this time with much lower tones).

The first man, Henzawa, raised his voice a little higher than the others, so he could be heard. "Now I'm willing to think about the idea of a Kiri-nin making some fog, but not _that_ much. I mean it's rolling down all those hills like a stampede. You'd have to be the Mizukage herself to make that much mist."

One of the older men grinned with excitement. "You don't think she's in the area, do you? Oh man, I hear she's a real beauty!"

"Would you keep it down?" he said harshly. "I don't want Haruka's angry eyes on me again tonight. Besides, even if it was the Mizukage, why would she need to make the fog at all? There hasn't been a war in five years, so there should be no need for her t—" He stopped talking then, as did everyone else in the little inn.

The old man gawked in awe at the sight he was witnessing. A tall, blond stranger was standing in the doorway, quietly overlooking the room. All eyes were focused on him as he rubbed his head in irritation. He was garbed in a ruddy-brown cloak with an orange shirt underneath and black pants. He was wearing a Konoha headband around his blonde locks and while not everyone in the restaurant immediately recognized him, almost all of them knew who he was.

Naruto Uzumaki found the nearest empty seat and headed towards it with a sense of urgency. His head was killing him and his body was aching. He had been traveling all day and had barely eaten anything since the other day. On top of that, he had been experimenting with Isobu's chakra earlier that afternoon and had learned that he could create a larger amount of mist than he had expected. He had actually created so much that his energy felt pretty drained afterward and his discomposure raised because of how the entire landscape was covered in fog.

Naruto ignored the stares directed at him (he was used to them by now) and sank into a booth in the corner of the restaurant. He laid his head on the table and groaned in exhaustion. Kakashi had been sending him to the various Hidden Villages for the past few months to help him with 'making connections' and 'maintaining bonds' as he had put it. The blond war hero loved seeing his old friends and enjoying their company, of course, but all the traveling was starting to be a burden.

He had been on his way to Kiri when after his trouble with the mist had diverted him away from the main path, he had stumbled upon this small village at the bottom of the hills. He knew he was still in Hi no Kuni and the sea was not too far away from his current location, but he also knew if he didn't get some food and rest soon, he was liable to pass out. His stomach rumbled, and he raised his head from the table to clench a fistful of his hair.

He hoped they had ramen.

It was at this point Haruka stepped out from the kitchen with a tray of food. She almost dropped the tray when she saw who was seated in the booth on the other side of the restaurant. But her surprise wasn't because of the same reasons everyone else was staring, (she had never seen a picture of the legendary hero before) but it was because the tall, blond man sitting at the booth was incredibly _handsome_.

Haruka had seen many good-looking men at the restaurant in her five years of being a waitress. She had served enough people to become accustomed to an array of faces and believed everyone to be unique in physical features and personality. Conversely, she noticed the myriad of similarities all humans shared and scattered from generation to generation. But she had never seen someone with such an attractive set of physical attributes. His face was chiseled to just the right angles and his jawline curved upward, showcasing the perfect lack of fat around the neck. Even from this side of the restaurant, Haruka noted the deep, azure color of his eyes and the massive shoulders of his upper body. She knew if he stood up, he would undoubtedly tower over anyone in the village.

She didn't know how she was able to do it but before her mind could comprehend it, Haruka was approaching his booth. She had subconsciously discarded the tray of food by dropping it off to the center table of old men and then beelined directly to the blond stranger, her unease increasing at interacting with such a man.

As she neared him, the blond looked at her with that standard smile of a customer, and she could feel her nervousness wane at the kindness present there.

"Hey, there," she said with surprising confidence. "What can I get for you?"

Naruto grinned brightly at her. He may have been tired, but he knew where his civilities were meant to be. "Hi! Do you guys have any ramen?"

Haruka smiled cheerfully. She noted the way his eyes lighted up at the question. It was pretty clear how important the dish was to the guy. She was going to knock him off his feet. "Actually, yes. I could even make it for you, if you'd like. My _tonkotsu_ ramen is my specialty." Haruka had mastered her art of the specific style a few years ago, and was already better at it than her father, the owner of the restaurant/inn. He easily surpassed her skill at every other kind of style of ramen and noodle dish served at the establishment, however, but she was still proud of the accomplishment.

Naruto scrunched his face as he observed her. She kept her face as neutral as possible, but she felt self-conscious about her current appearance. She was wearing a standard black blouse with a white apron and her work skirt. There were splotches of dried flour and sauces dispersed around her bare arms and clothes.

After a moment of recollection, the blond seemed satisfied with whatever he was looking for and beamed at her. "Sounds good to me. Could you make it spicy while you're at it? I'm kind of in the mood for something hot."

Haruka felt her face flush at the comment and gave him a brief smile. "Coming right up. I'll be right back with some water." She hesitated after taking a few steps away from the table and turned back to him. "That is, if water's OK?"

Naruto quirked an eyebrow in her direction. "Huh? Oh, yeah. Water's fine."

She gave a nervous laugh and nodded as if it was the most obvious thing in the world and darted for the kitchen. Naruto stared at her back quizzically. He was fairly certain she hadn't recognized him as the war hero, (some people were not aware of who he was, but it was still rare to see them) but she had still acted odd towards him. He was used to girls acting that way near him in the last few years. After the war and his growth spurt, he noticed his facial features were far more defined. His intense training regimen had also elevated his muscle capacity to a significant degree. He remembered Shikamaru mentioning that women liked those aspects in a male and typically sought a relationship because of them. Naruto was not completely unaware of the romantic side of the world, but he was still relatively fresh to it. He had actually already interacted and had even slept with some girls from the village, but hadn't had a serious relationship with anyone yet. Despite his familiarity with romance, he had not even connected the waitress's antics with such interesting concepts.

Not yet, anyways.

In the kitchen, Haruka frantically raced around trying to find the necessary ingredients to make the order. Her father, on the other side of the grill, was sending her a puzzled look. "Something wrong, honey?"

She barely looked at her father when she answered. "No, _Tou-chan_. Someone just ordered my specialty, so I'm going to make it. Did you make the broth yesterday?"

Her father bit the inside of his cheek in thought. "Yes, I did."

"Where is it?" Her eyes gave away her desperation. Her father stored that observation away in his mind.

"Over there." He pointed to a large pot at the end of the side table, and she practically lunged at the object.

"Thanks," she blurted hastily and ran with the pot towards one of the stoves.

Haruka's father watched her prepare the dish with a pensive expression. It was not often that someone would order her specialty, and it was even rarer when his daughter would act like _this_. He saw her grab a small bottle of a rather intense spice and that's when his interest really peaked. That specific ramen dish didn't align well with heavy spices, and he knew then what she was doing. He chuckled and went back to his grill to make the rest of the orders.

As Haruka's hands flew around her, grabbing any spice in her reach, she found her mind swimming away from the task at hand. How could she have like such a little girl in front of him? She was typically so clam and reserved in front of men she liked, but this time was different. This guy was the single most attractive person she had ever come in contact with, and he was messing with her head. There was also something really nostalgic about the blond stranger. His presence somehow evoked a sense of familiarity in her mind, as if a blank paper was presented before her and she only had to write a word on it. Of course, her musings ended up causing her to neglect just how much hot spice she was putting into the broth.

Several minutes later, Haruka belted out of the kitchen and brought the piping hot bowl of noodles towards her recently-deemed favorite customer.

Naruto's head perked up when he saw the bowl of steam approach him. He grinned as the bowl was set before him. He gave her a thumbs-up with one hand as he reached for his chopsticks with the other. "Hey, thanks…um…" He frowned.

She aided him. "Haruka. My name's Haruka."

"Haruka." His smile was surely the most attractive thing about the man. It made her legs feel like jelly. "That's a nice name. And you made this yourself, right?"

She smiled happily. "Yes, I hope it turned out OK."

"I'll let you know." He clapped his hands together and said the standard mantra. He then grabbed a nice helping of noodles with his chopsticks and shoved them into his mouth.

For one second, the flour was all he could taste and then every single spicy particle hit him at once. He felt as if a fiery punch of gusto had launched itself into his mouth, and he started to choke. Haruka's mouth dropped open in horror, and she looked around for something to help.

Naruto stopped choking long enough to crack out a request: "Could I get that water now, please?"

Haruka's face felt as hot as the ramen as she ran for the kitchen to fetch the poor man his water. Everyone in the restaurant watched her run across the room and then focused on the famous blond choking out his guts at the corner booth. Haruka swiftly returned with a large pitcher of water and a tall glass. She poured the life-saving liquid into the glass and handed it to the frantic blond.

Naruto drank the whole glass within a few seconds and relished the cool satisfaction it gave him. He set the empty glass down and took a deep breath. "Holy shit, that's good," he said.

Haruka stared at him, bewildered. "What?"

"Yeah, this ramen's amazing. I can't think of a time I had something this hot. I feel so much better now. I was feeling really tired, but this stuff really woke my body up." He would need to tell Rock Lee about this ramen when he got back to Konoha. Even if it wasn't curry, he was pretty sure ole Bushy Brows would enjoy it.

Haruka fidgeted with her fingers gingerly. "Well, that's awkward. It's actually not supposed to be that hot. I put way too much spice in there on accident."

Naruto blinked and started to laugh. He was laughing so hard that Haruka was scared he was going to begin to choke again. When she realized he was fine, she laughed with him. The customers around them shot them confused glances, but the two of them were ignorant of the looks.

After Naruto finally calmed down, he smiled up at the waitress. "Well, it's still pretty good, just leave the pitcher here; I'm gonna need it."

"Of course." She returned his smile.

"Oh, by the way, this place also serves as an inn, right?"

Haruka nodded. "Yes, although we don't get many travelers around here, so the rooms are almost always vacant. Would you like a room?"

Naruto straightened his back and grinned cheerfully. "That would be great, actually."

Haruka could feel all the nervous energy she had built up begin to drain away. The blond had an interesting atmosphere that exuded from his character. She wasn't able to pinpoint exactly how he did it, but his smile and persona just made a person feel welcome and cared for. In her mind, it made him even more attractive. "No problem," she said. "I'll go get the register for you to sign."

Naruto ate his food in silence until she returned with a large book. Haruka dropped the book onto the table and handed Naruto a pen. "If you could sign your name here, please."

Naruto hastily scribbled his name on the paper, and Haruka watched him. Before she could fully react to the familiar name she saw him write, a small voice was heard behind her.

"Excuse me?"

Haruka's eyes flew to the tiny figure standing next to her. A little girl with bright, red hair pulled up into a ponytail was looking at Naruto tentatively. Naruto's eyes softened, and he lowered his head down to her level (which was impressive considering he was sitting down). "Yes?" he asked.

At the corner of her eye, Haruka could see a group of four individuals in the nearby booth looking at the three of them with wonder; she had seen the family here before. The little girl stared down at her feet, and her voice was barely above a squeak. "Are you Naruto Uzumaki?"

Haruka's bewildered eyes jumped from the little girl to Naruto. He smiled sheepishly. "Well, yeah."

The little girl's eyes rose up to him, and she appeared as if she was going to cry. "So you're really the Savior of the World?"

Naruto began to rub the back of his head, and Haruka found the little idiosyncrasy to be unbelievably adorable. "Yeah, that's what some people call me, I guess."

"Can I have your autograph then?!" the little girl cried. Suddenly, (as if they weren't already) everyone was looking at the corner booth with great intrigue.

Haruka could probably imagine what it was like to be a celebrity. She conceptualized it as something like being really bothersome and unfortunate most of the time. It was surely filled with unrest and annoyances and inopportune times. She knew most people probably would enjoy it at first, but then grow to abhor it as soon as the taxing reality settled on top of them. Naruto probably had enough requests for his autographs and attention to fill a warehouse. Haruka would have expected anybody, especially Naruto, to react to the request with disgust, or at least some form of indignation. But to her pleasant surprise, Naruto shot the little girl a bright smile.

"You betcha!" he cheered. He fished a small scroll from some hidden pocket in his cloak and took the pen to scrawl out something on it. When he was finished writing, he handed the small scroll to the little girl. An odd symbol that looked like a swirled circle was next to big bold letters on the scroll reading: **#1 HOKAGE CANDIDATE NARUTO UZUMAKI!**

The little girl took the scroll and held it gently, as if it was porcelain. Her big eyes stared up at the blond hero with astonishment. "Thank you so much," she yelled enthusiastically as she bowed to him.

Naruto rubbed the back of his neck again. "No problem."

The little girl ran off to her family with a large grin on her face, and Haruka could only gaze at her back, spellbound.

From the booth next to her, Naruto's voice called over to her: "Cute kid. So I suppose that introduces me now." Haruka directed her attention back to the blond hero, and she tried to find something to say back to that. Naruto's eyes somehow illustrated a level of insight to her. He knew what she was thinking, and she couldn't explain how she could see that. "You'd be surprised how many times I've been asked to do that."

She swallowed. "A lot, I suppose?"

"The opposite, actually." Her shock must have showed because he chuckled then. "I mean, it feels that way at least. Maybe I'm just being arrogant, but I wish I got asked for autographs more often. I really like giving them out."

Haruka found that incredibly interesting. She was about to decipher the implications behind that but before she could even begin, a chalky hand dropped onto her shoulder. She turned her head to see one of the elderly men from the center table staring at her.

"Can I help you?" she asked. She didn't like the way his eyes looked at her. This particular man just happened to be the one she knew the least out of all the men at the table.

"Ah, Haruka- _chan_. You s'look so lovely tosnight," he slurred. His breath reeked of alcohol, and Haruka crinkled her nose at the repugnant smell.

"Thank you, _ojii-san_ ," she said. "But I'd appreciate if you wouldn't touch me when you're drunk."

The old man cackled brightly. "Ah, nah, I'm s'not drunk. I feels great righ'now. He leaned closer to her face. "Ya sur are pretty, Haruka- _chan_!"

Naruto's expression sharpened, and his back grew rigid. He was about to use the pen in his hand to knock the old man's hand off the waitress's shoulder when he realized there was no need.

To Naruto's eternal surprise, Haruka grabbed the old man's hand and twisted it uncomfortably behind his back. The old man squealed in pain and watched Haruka with something mixed with agony and fascination. "Don't grab me again, ya bastard, or I'll break your arm!" she yelled.

Naruto could feel his posture lower at the terrifying aura the waitress was giving off. Remarkably, it reminded me of some other girls he knew. The old man was just sober enough to get the message and nodded in agreement. Haruka loosened her grip and observed the old man as he buckled back and ran back to his table. The other men were laughing and cackling loudly at seeing their friend being publicly embarrassed in the middle of practically half the village.

Haruka turned back to Naruto who was gazing at her with an expression of something similar to reverence. "What?"

Naruto smiled softly. She was starting to question how many smiles the man possessed in his arsenal. So far, she liked all of them. "Nothing, you just surprised me a little."

Haruka flushed. "Oh, sorry. Um…is there anything else I can get for you?"

Naruto leaned into his seat. "No, that's fine."

"All right. I'll be back later to check on you, then." She darted away from him, hiding her face and heading over to serve other tables.

Naruto gazed at her retreating figure with a thoughtful smile. After seeing that little flash of personality, the blond was suddenly absorbed by the pretty waitress. At first, he thought she was just cute, a nice face, smooth hands, eye-catching hair; but now he was slightly captivated by her personality. One of the main reasons Naruto was single (Shikamaru liked to think it was primarily because of how dense he could be) was because of how picky he was about his ideal girl. He had liked Sakura for so long because of how pretty she was and how her affections were so geared towards Sasuke, his rival. Obviously, as he got older, his feelings matured and he still really pined for her. After the war, he knew he could not have her because of her strong devotion to Sasuke, so he eventually gave up on her. It was a painful procedure and took him a couple years, but he was able to accomplish it in the end. Since then, he had gone on multiple dates with an assortment of beautiful women, (many of whom he had gone to the bedroom with) but none of them really matched his criteria. After some time narrowing down his tastes, he noticed there was a definite trait he was attracted to and desired in women: _spunk_.

That was the best word for it, in his opinion. It's a trait he noticed his mother having an abundance of, and he supposed that had to do with the majority of why he liked it. It was the main reason why he formally turned down Hinata Hyūga after a few dates; he just couldn't be attracted to her personality. He enjoyed that flavor of sass and moxie that certain girls possessed. Tsunade had it, yes, but there was no way that relationship would ever happen. She was legitimately old enough to be his grandmother. Tenten actually had a certain level of gumption to her character, but not exactly in the way he was looking for. Naruto had thought about this long enough to understand that it was a bit of a balancing act; he was interested in the range of complexity a woman could carry and the different emotions used for separate situations.

And it just so happened this peculiar little waitress retained a multi-faceted personality.

Naruto grinned as he knew he just had to get to know this girl better. He dipped his chopsticks into the fiery ramen and took another mouthful of the dish. Yep, he thought, it was delicious.

Haruka threw more water than was necessary onto her face for the fourth time. Her face still felt hot. She was standing over the sink in the kitchen and stared down at her hands with disdain. She really messed that up. She didn't like to get flustered, and it was rare for her to act that way around men. Her regular confidence with men was something she was proud of and she had enjoyed a few lovers in her life because of it, but none of them for very long. Most men wanted to leave the village and take her with them, but she didn't want to leave her home and family. Her father was all she had left since her mother and brother had been killed during the war. To leave the only place she ever knew and her father would mean she would be sacrificing a piece of her.

She didn't believe a sacrifice would be necessary for her. She was happy where she was, after all.

She was still staring down at her hands when her father called to her from the grill. "Haruka, what are you doing?"

"Nothing, father. Just washing my hands." She moved to the table that was laden with cooked food and checked the order sheet. As she was getting the food ready to take out to the customers, her mind attempted to decide on what she would do about the handsome blond.

After Haruka served the other tables, she noted the empty bowl and the looming blue eyes of the man sitting in the corner booth. She wasn't positive, but the look he was giving her was one she was familiar with: it held allurement.

Not sure if the message was clear, she shot him a delightful smile. She surmised it was best to go for her best interests and approached his table. "Are you finished, Uzumaki- _san_?"

Naruto chuckled. "Yes, but please call me Naruto. I honestly hate honorifics."

"Well, if you want to be the next Hokage, you'll have to get used to it."

Naruto's eyes glimmered in amusement. "You're pretty observant, Haruka."

She shrugged. "Most waitresses need to be. It kinda comes with the job."

"I see. Does flirting with the customers also come with the job?"

Her eyes widened slightly, but she didn't fidget this time. There was no need to be nervous anymore. Somehow, beyond her knowledge, she had made him interested in her. Before she took the time to filter through her past actions, she said: "Not particularly. Just with the cute ones."

"Well, that's good," Naruto said. His smile was wide now and had an almost feral quality to it. She thought it was intoxicating. "I was starting to worry that I wasn't special."

She placed her hands on her hips. She had hit the switch on herself fully now and felt like her usual self. The poor boy didn't stand a chance. "Why would you, the war hero, ever think you weren't special?"

He shrugged. "Everybody in the world could tell you that you're amazing but if you didn't believe it yourself, then it would all just come across as lies."

There was some truth in that, she supposed. "Then do you believe it?"

"I believe everyone's special and it's not because of their actions, but because there's no one else like them. Actions shouldn't equal worth."

"Are you usually so philosophical with your waitresses?"

His smile sent shivers down her spine. "Only the ones I like."

She didn't smile then (even though she was absolutely thrilled) and reached into her pocket and pulled out a key with a number tagged onto it. "Here, I forgot to give you the key to your room."

He accepted it from her. "Do you have a spare?"

Now, she smiled. "Yes, I do. I have one for all the rooms."

He motioned with his hand for her to lean closer. When she did, his mouth hovered near her ear, as if his next words were the most important of that entire night. "Could you come by my room later then?"

Her eyes locked with his. Naruto observed they were a bright shade of green, a few shades lighter than Sakura's.

Haruka's lips quivered in excitement. "I'll see what I can do." Her voice came out far more steady than she had thought it would.

Naruto grinned brightly and backed away from her. She stood up and saw him acting like the man who signed little girl's autographs and laughed about spicy ramen. "Wonderful!" he exclaimed. "Could I have my check now, please?"

She lowered her lips and cooed out her answer. "It's on the house."

He flashed her that feral grin again.

Later that evening, after the restaurant closed down for the night and Naruto had gotten comfortable in his room, he heard a knock on his door. He opened it and found Haruka standing in the doorway. She had cleaned up and was wearing a red dress that stopped just above the knee.

"I hope I was reading the situation right," she said with a smooth smirk on her full lips.

"Nice dress," he uttered with a smirk of his own.

"Thanks, it took me a while to find the right thing to wear."

"Truthfully, I'm surprised you decided to wear anything at all."

She leaned over and kissed him then. Her lips were warm, Naruto mused as he wrapped his arm around her waist. She kicked the door closed and the lights were turned off after that. Their night was filled with an amalgamation of bliss and understanding. They discovered new potential in each other and drank the pleasure they were both giving. They took and enjoyed, and it lasted longer than either of them had anticipated.

Of course, they didn't complain.

* * *

The sunlight flooded the room in a muddled light because of the thin paper filter placed over the window. Haruka awoke with a pleasant ache and found herself alone in the room. There was no trace of any other person, except for a folded letter placed on the nightstand next to the bed.

She smiled tenderly when she saw a familiar spiral design etched onto the front of it. When she opened the letter, she knew before she even read the first word what it was probably going to say.

 _Dear Haruka,_

 _I wish I could have enjoyed some more time with you as I definitely appreciated the time we had together, but I'm a very busy man and could not afford it. You're a wonderful woman and I'm so glad that I met you. Please understand that as much as I like you, I don't think our relationship would fully work out. Maybe I'm mistaken, but you seem really fond of your home and to take you away from it would not be fair to you or your family. I'm also probably not the best person to be in a relationship with as I'll undoubtedly get busier in the years to come. I hope your future is promising. Maybe I'll see you again someday and if it's the right time, we can talk about things then. Whatever happens, I wish you the best._

 _Take care,_

 _Naruto Uzumaki_

A single tear dropped from Haruka's eye, and she wished she could summon up more. She felt a form of bitter sweetness as she knew she could not have the man of her dreams, but that he did really care about her. Perhaps, she _would_ see him again and then matters could be arranged to suit both of them, but she didn't count on it. To have that man would probably be too good for her, and she was at least grateful for the time she had managed to spend with him.

As Haruka's clutched the letter and looked around the sunlit room of her sweet memories, she was glad her choices had led her to where she was now.

She would need to make the ramen extra spicy next time.

* * *

 **Yes! My first one-shot is finished. I've been wanting to do one for a while now and after some deliberation and thinking, I wrote this. It was a lot of fun, and I think it turned it out all right. It definitely grew from my original idea, which involved Naruto meeting some hot stranger in a restaurant, and went above and beyond my expectations. I'll probably write some more separate one-shots down the road. Of course, my main stories are my top priority, but it's nice to take a little break every now and then. I hope you guys enjoyed reading it. Please, send me your questions and thoughts through a PM or review.**

 **Thank you so much!**


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